Broken Speedo

The speedometer stopped working about half way to Dad's last Monday.  No big deal, I figured.  I can look at the tachometer to tell how fast I'm going, at least on level ground.  The sun set on the ride home, and the dash lights seemed to be working fine.  Then they started to flicker.  So I wiggled the headlight switch, and they flickered more.  Well, by the time I got them to stay on, the tachometer lightbulb had burned out.  Luckily, I had a GPS speedometer app on my iPad, and I used that to monitor my speed on the long drive home.

Broken speedometer?  There's an app for that.

A few days ago, my Son and I pulled out what was left of the speedometer cable core.  I had to crawl under the dash and remove the four bolts that hold the instrument housing to the dash, lift it out, then unscrewed the cable housing from the back of the speedo.  I easily pulled out most of the cable core... sure enough, it had broken in two, right at a tight bend in the cable!  I next had to go under the car, and disconnect the other end of the cable from the transmission.  This is not an easy task, because the speedo drive is in the tightest part of the tunnel above the frame x-member.

Yes, it's hard to get to that speedo cable.

 I could barely squeeze my hand into the spot, and left some skin behind, but I did unscrew the housing.  I easily pulled out the remaining stubby end of the core. The housing looked OK, so I smoothed out the bend and reconnected it.  Then, I lubed up the spare cable core I got on eBay, and inserted it into the housing from the top.  Naturally, it didn't fit... it was 3" too long!  I went under the car and removed the bottom of the cable housing again (ouch), and confirmed that the housing was clear.  The cable core was indeed too long.

Yesterday, my Son went to a speedometer shop and got a new cable core made.  We were sure this would fix the problem, and confidently went for a drive after we installed it.  The speedometer didn't move.  Nothing.  I removed the gauge cluster again, and disconnected the cable at the top.  Driving very slowly, it was clear that the core was not turning... but I could feel it engage with the lower gear?  What was wrong?

Well, looks like I need a new speedo drive gear.  Worse, I'm not sure how to get it out.  Perhaps if I remove the shifter... but not today.  That's a bigger task than I can handle today, and I want to consult with Transmission Guy first.

An inoperative speedometer is a little disappointing, but it won't keep me from enjoying the car.  I'm limiting the engine to 2500 rpm anyway, as part of the break in procedure.  This gives me a top speed of about 65 mph.  Besides, I can always take my iPad!

This afternoon was more encouraging.  My Son and I cleaned out all our remaining t-bird parts from Uncle Packard's garage, including the hard top.  We had to install the front weatherstripping and the rear latch hardware in order to get it on the car.  I used a layer of cardboard to protect the paint, at least until I can completely check the weather stripping and properly adjust the latches.

In the late afternoon light, my Son took a few glam shots.  He says the top makes it look more "cute", and less aggressive.  Either way, Nell is a very pretty car.

Looking at the car, it seems that she is trying to tell me something.   In an urgent whisper, she is telling me something rather profound.  Something about grace, something about a deeper beauty, something about enjoying God's blessing in new and exciting ways.  And perhaps even accepting life with a sense of style.

The speedometer suddenly seems much less important.